


A King's Journey

by IraKey



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Backstory, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-06 01:43:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5398133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IraKey/pseuds/IraKey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asgore's life, from being a young prince on the surface to the forgotten king of the Underground.</p><p>This fic has not been beta read, nor is it exactly the most beautiful piece of written literature in the land. Characterizations may be a bit choppy and jump too fast for the amount of text dedicated to certain actions. I'm merely a monkey at the keyboard, banging out the ideas and posting them before regret sets in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was a bright day when the rumors started.

Monsters and humankind had been surviving peacefully for as long as written civilization existed. The world was discovered and mapped out by both creatures, and kingdoms rose where monsters and humans could live as rulers.

There was a small kingdom in a forgotten corner of the world where there ruled a proud king. He had fur white as snow, and his horns were so long, they curled around his head and into the sky. He was the image of a king, and at his side was his golden wife and three children, all strong little boys. 

The odd thing about monsters is that they rarely aged. Children would grow rapidly after birth, usually as fast or faster than humans. But once they became adults, they sort of, stopped. Until they had a child of their own and began to grow older as their child aged.

But unlike humans, they did not create children quite so quickly. Still, the humans did not understand their neighbor’s immortality, and this king had been their king for what felt like a century. It was more akin to forty years, but when your ruler rarely showed signs of aging, it was difficult to tell.

The rumors didn’t reach the castle until nightfall, when the three children were tucked into bed, and the king’s small wife was sitting in a comfortable rocking chair, reading the latest reports for her husband. He was preparing for bed when there was a knock on their bedroom door.

“Sire!” The small sheep was out of breath, carrying with it a tightly wound scroll. “The humans in town are talking of regicide! They have been meeting in the center and speaking in groups. We should get you and your family to safety!” The king paused from removing his boots, walking over to the sheep. One paw took the scroll, the other pet the sheep’s head gently. He opened it and read, expression serious for a moment. And then he smiled. 

His wife, watching, smiled as well, and returned to the reports. 

“There is nothing to worry about. Some humans are distressed by our kind, young one. It is as it always has been, and I am sure it will be the same when my eldest takes the throne. These are but drunken grumbles. It will pass.” The scroll was thrown in the empty fireplace, a small ball of flame sparking from the king’s paw to consume the scroll. “Put this out of mind and rest. If it becomes serious, we will be fine.” 

And so the king and his wife and the castle of monsters and humans went to bed, warning forgotten. But the rumors didn’t stop. They continued.

_Monsters are immortal,_ the rumors whispered. _They’ll push us out of our land and will never give up the throne. Immortal rulers are lazy and will tax us too hard. They already take more from us than we can afford!_

And then a monster died.

Unlike most wars, this wasn’t someone most would consider important. This monster was just a turtle, a quiet old turtle who had many children and whose wife had died long ago, her dust spread over their family farm as was their way. But this was the first death of a monster that was not due to accidental violence or old age. It was ten years after the initial warning, which had been long forgotten.

The king called his children. The eldest was Asgroc, and he had inherited his grandfather’s bulllike features and dark hair, a hulking shadow even in the sun. Ashaal took the most after their mother, all feline grace and golden curls that betrayed his kind nature. The youngest, Asgore, had the white fur of his father with tufts of gold. He looked the most like their father, but had their mother’s kind eyes.

And now, they stood in a row before their father, watching him pace before his throne. The king had retrieved a little seen item, a red trident bare of decoration. The three children shifted as the king walked, his face grave, his white fur streaked with grey.

“The humans are beginning to gather and revolt,” he said finally, stopping his pacing and turning to face the brothers. “They have maliciously killed one of our own, and they continue to terrorize other citizens. We need to stop them before it gets out of hand.” 

“We have magic. Why don’t we find our strongest mages and use them against the humans?” Asgroc asked, shifting to step forward. “Allow me to gather the royal guards. I’m sure we will route them out without harm coming to us.” 

“We’re not as strong as them,” Ashaal said in a calm voice. “We should find what they want and attempt to give them it to maintain the peace.” 

“They’ve already broken the peace, and they want our throne. They don’t wish to listen to reason. They want to push us out.” The king looked to Asgore, but Asgore had nothing to say. Violence would only breed more violence, and giving in would hurt the other monsters.

“I only know that the humans are our people too. Maybe we can find the leaders of this coup and bring them before a trial?” Asgore said slowly. He smiled slightly. “It would be the fairest thing to do.” 

“It would. We will attempt this. Asgroc, step forward.” When he did, the king held out the trident. “You are nearly of age to take the throne. Your mother and I wish for you to take our heirloom, and to wield it at the head of our guard. It will be your duty as our heir to bring in the proper humans for judging.” Asgroc took the trident, bowing his head. 

“Thank you Father. I will hold this with honor and respect. “ 

“Ashaal, go with your brother. You are a mage of some talent. You can be of use.” Ashaal nodded, turning to follow Asgroc. Asgore stared up at his father, swallowing.

“What am I to do?” he asked timidly. He wasn’t the best mage like his mother or Asheel, nor was he a great stragetician like his father or Asgroc. He was truly a fifth wheel in the family.

“You will be going to our friends in the South. We may need their aid if the humans prove stubborn.” There was a pause, then the king stepped down, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. “And you have to visit your betrothed, to keep up appearances.” 

Heavy fur didn’t allow for much color to show through, but Asgore could feel his face heat under the fur. “Father, please. She’s five years my senior. Why doesn’t Asheel marry her?”

The paw on his shoulder tightened, but his father’s face softened. “I know, Asgore, it is not an ideal situation, but age won’t matter much in a few decades. And she is a handsome young goat. You will grow to love her as I did your mother.” Asgore sighed through his nose, dropping his gaze. 

“Yes father. When do I leave?”

“The sooner the better. If anything is to happen, we’ll need you to come back as soon as possible with help. These humans…they know we aren’t as strong as them, despite our magic. If they put up a serious fight…” Asgore looked up in time to watch his father turn his face away, hiding his own tears. 

The young man knew better than to try and comfort his father, so he merely bowed and turned to leave. Despite his reservations about the Lady Toriel, he was eager to leave. Not to run away, though the humans’ murder had shaken him.

No, he was going to get to visit an old friend.


	2. Chapter 2

The journey was a short one. The Dreemurr’s castle was the fanciest of the homes monsterkind lived in. Most royalty preferred smaller homes. This was true of the Atu family, who were wealthy enough to control a significant swathe of land in the kingdom, but preferred to live in a series of smaller homes in a compound instead of, well, a castle.

Asgore didn’t quite get it. He rather liked not stepping out into the rain every time he needed to visit with his father or go to the kitchens. But the Atu’s were a powerful family, and he knew better than to complain. Besides, his best friend lived here with his fiancée, and he wouldn’t make fun of their home.

“Prince Dreemurr, we’re so glad you’ve arrived. We heard the rumors of the humans revolting and were worried that you might’ve been hurt!” He found himself surrounded by Atu staff and family, quick to give a reassuring smile.

“Asgroc is going to find the leaders of this rebellion and settle it down,” he said, lowering himself from his horse, scanning the crowd. He saw Toriel, her fur obviously just brushed, and gave a timid smile. He was done growing, but he didn’t tower over her like his father did his mother. The goat could nearly meet his eyes. “Toriel, I’m glad to see you well.” 

She curtseyed shallowly before offering him a smile of her own, making his heart jump in his throat. She was just _beautiful_. And older, and wiser. There were rumors she had already had a lover before. Then again, some of those rumors were that it was Asgore’s own father that had been her lover, so it had to be taken with a heaping tablespoonful of salt. 

“And I you.” She had a soft voice that demanded respect. She smoothed her gown, gesturing for him to follow her with a shake of her head. “My parents are out at the moment to check on our own situation at hand. There was a murder of a family of rabbits. They left nearly as you were arriving.” 

“Oh no. A whole family? Were there children?” Asgore felt a chill go down his spine, one that was entirely unpleasant. He found his paw had managed to curl into his cape, crumbling the thick fabric. The cape was new, a gift from his mother. He didn’t want to tear it. Then Toriel nodded and his paw tightened again, swallowing thickly and shaking his head slightly.

“What is going through their minds?” he asked softly, having to stop when Toriel slowed, putting her paw on his shoulder. Her touch was light and short, and she started again. 

“I’m sure your brothers will be able to route them out quickly enough,” she said, paws going into her sleeves as she held them across her stomach. “My parents will lend their support in any way possible, I’m sure. What do you think they’ll need?”

“Mages. We don’t have many advantages but humans can’t control magic quite so easily as us,” he said immediately. “Asgroc and Asheel are leading a team from the royal guard to avoid causalities. I’m sure they’ll succeed. Father gave Asgroc the trident.” 

Toriel looked at Asgore much more sharply. “He did? Are the humans that much of a threat?”

“I think it’s more of a, uh, show of force than anything. That they mean business.” He hesitated before continuing. “Asgroc is just a few years away from taking the throne anyway. So he may be trying to show that he doesn’t intend on keeping the throne as well.” 

“Your father is a smart man.” They got to their destination, the garden. It was smaller than the one at the castle, but blue and red bloomed in equal beauty. Asgore looked around, smiling in mild confusion before turning back to Toriel. “Is there a particular reason why you’ve led me here?”

“I thought you would like to wait in a comfortable environment while I go see about supper,” she said in her same quiet, no nonsense voice. “Please wait here for me.” 

“Of course.” He felt a flare of annoyance at being treated like a child, but the garden was enough of a consolation prize for him to not mention it. He let Toriel go, going to explore the flowers that were blooming around the corner. He was already starting to weed and pick off the dying leaves when he heard a noise.

“Hello?” He started to turn, straightening, only to feel someone run right into his ribs. He grunted, shifting and lifting his arms to see who the offending figure was. And immediately broke into a smile. 

“Gaster!” The fragile skeleton was apparently regretting his decision to attempting bodychecking his large friend, rubbing the side of his skull before looking up at Asgore with a timid smile. 

He dropped his hand to slowly sign. _Greetings Asgore. You’re here because of the rumors, right?_ Asgore didn’t understand most signing, and Gaster was deaf, but the two of them had been friends since they were very young and got along with the limited communication they had. And Asgore was attempting to learn sign language. 

He just wasn’t that good with his big paws. 

Gaster could make sounds, and Asgore proved it by scooping the thin young man up and squeezing him until he heard joints pop. Gaster was ever the fan of long, flowing robes, so sometimes Asgore wondered if he had cracked bones in the past and Gaster was just keeping it from him. 

“I’ve missed you,” Asgore admitted, knowing he was grinning, and that made it hard for Gaster to read his lips, but not caring. It’d been a couple of months since they’d seen each other. Gaster smiled, motioning to his stomach then chin. Asgore quickly mimicked it, remembering, then he took one of Gaster’s hands, guiding him to a bench to sit and talk.

“I don’t know what my father is planning to do with the humans,” he was telling Gaster. His golden fur was ruffled, sticking straight up between his horns. Gaster was sitting primly beside the disgruntled prince, hands in his lap as he focused on reading his friend’s lips. “If we do get them, will he kill them? What do we do with those souls?”

Gaster merely shook his head, giving a slight shrug. He was glad to see Asgore again, that was without a doubt, but it was distressing to see the prince so agitated. He reached out to take Asgore’s hand, squeezing it. Asgore squeezed back, leaning forward to lightly headbutt Gaster’s head. Gaster pressed into the touch, his other hand resting on Asgore’s knee as he pushed himself up. 

“Prince Dreemurr?” Toriel found them and hurried over, Gaster and Asgore parting with surprise. “My parents returned. They need to speak with you.” Asgore started to stand, Gaster watching them with confusion. Toriel gestured for him to stand as well before taking off, walking without looking back to see if the others followed. Asgore exchanged a confused with Gaster before following, the skeleton drifting along in the wake of his cape.

The hurry became apparent as they entered the great room. There were monsters and humans milling about, not fighting, but bending over a few figures. As Asgore got closer, he watched one of the figures collapse. White spilled out of the clothes.

Dust.

“Mother!” Toriel had run around the group around the deceased monster, and when Asgore turned, he felt his stomach jolt. Something brushed past him. Gaster, going to his lord and lady’s sides. 

There was blood. Human blood, monster blood, no one was sure. But the lord and lady Atu were laying on the floor, bandages and torn clothes trying to staunch the flow coming from their sides. 

“Prince Dreemurr?” It was the Lord Atu. Asgore walked forward, kneeling, taking Lord Atu’s hand. Toriel was kneeling between them, eyes full of tears as the people around wondered how so many were dying against so few humans. “Dreemurr.”

“I’m sorry, I’m here.” Asgore felt the sharp pinch of bone on his arm and caught a look from Gaster before he was able to focus on the dying goat. He took the man’s arm now, the monster’s grip strong even in death.

“Keep them safe. No matter what. Keep her safe.” Asgore didn’t have a chance to speak up, say, that wasn’t his job. That was his brothers’. He was just the baby brother, the bargaining chip, the mistake. But Lord Atu turned his head to look to his wife and daughter, and his arm was turning to dust. The Lady lasted a little longer before she too collapsed. Toriel let out a wail, paws in their clothes. 

A gentle shove at the small of his back pushed Asgore towards Toriel, and he gingerly wrapped his arms around her. She was trembling, crying dry tears for now. 

And all around them, people began to wail. Asgore looked for Gaster and saw that the skeleton had already left, trying to save some of the monsters with his own peculiar magic. Asgore’s arms tightened around Toriel before he focused on her, letting her sink into his arms as she continued to cry. She could probably feel Asgore’s heart was pounding with fright. He didn’t know what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

“How many?” Toriel paused in her pacing. Asgore was sitting in her father’s chair, at her behest, and Gaster was standing before them, skull unreadable and his hands neatly folded in front of each other. He looked like a puddle of black fabric, his white hands and skull sharply contrasting the softness of his edges. He gestured slightly with his hands, making Toriel sink into her mother’s chair. 

“What? What did he say?” Asgore had to ask, unsure of the signs as Gaster was going too fast for him.

“Thirty five.” Her voice was surprisingly hollow, and Gaster stepped forward, obviously worried. She rubbed her forehead, nails scraping over her horns. 

“Thirty five? Why did your parents take so many?”

“They had killed a family. They wanted to be safe if it was a-a…if it was a trap.” Toriel lifted her head, pressing her lips tightly together as she wiped her eyes. “Gaster.” The skeleton paused, straightening. “I want you to gather the mages we have left and prepare to leave for the Dreemurr’s castle. We’ll leave immediately.” 

“But the people have to mourn,” Asgore protested. “We have to gather the dust and return it to their families to spread. They have to prepare for – ”

“For the humans to get brave and start attacking them in the streets?” Toriel stood, turning on Asgore. “Asgore, I know that you have a soft heart, but a group of five humans took out thirty five people, including my parents, who are adept fighters that survived several battles against fellow monsters. There isn’t time to grieve. We have to keep our people safe.” 

“But the humans are our people too.” Asgore protested. “They’re in our kingdom. We are supposed to protect them all.” He could feel Gaster and Toriel both watching him. Toriel looked ready to spit fire at him. 

“They chose to attack us for no good reason! They’re not our people and they never were!” Flames scorched the arm of Toriel’s chair, making both men wary. Asgore stood, unsure. “Do you know what they say the problem is? That because we are ‘immortal’ we take up too much space! Even though they make all the children and take up so much of our resources and have the lifespans of mayflies!” Toriel stepped up to Asgore, jabbing a claw into his chest. “And none of this might’ve happened if your grandparents hadn’t decided to take the throne from the humans!”

Asgore stepped back, lifting his paws. “Tori, you’re upset. I understand that. But you don’t want to hurt the humans. You have a gentle heart. We’ll figure out what to do with all this. But let’s just wait. Give it a day. Let our people mourn and give the humans time to realize what they’ve done. They may realize that they’ve just killed friends, family, and come to regret it.” He was expecting a fireball to his heart at any moment with the way Toriel was glaring at him, her eyes a faint red from more than crying. 

There was movement behind him, and he felt fingers in his fur on his bare arm. He didn’t have to turn to know it was Gaster; only he had the peculiar holes in his hands and his fur would slide between his joints when either of them moved.

Toriel lowered her paw slowly, her eyes on Gaster. She sighed, turning away. “One day Asgore. To mourn the dead. But then we’re leaving.” She turned on her heels and walked away. Asgore sighed, shoulders slumping. 

“I thought she was going to blast out my soul,” he said with a laugh, rubbing his face. Gaster squeezed his arm but couldn’t stop the prince from slowly sinking to sit on the floor, just kneel next to him, hands still on his arm. “I’m okay.” Gaster kept staring at him. He could almost feel the disbelief radiating off his friend. “Okay, maybe not but I’m the prince. I need to take charge and be strong for everyone hurting, right?” 

Gaster rested his head against Asgore’s shoulder, curling his fingers in his fur, stroking it lightly. Asgore felt his fur grow wet and shifted, pulling his thin friend close. “I’m sorry.” Gaster couldn’t see him to know what he said, but the grip on his shirt was enough indication that he wasn’t supposed to move, so he just held Gaster more tightly, wrapping his cape around them both. 

He could only remain like that for a little while before word got out that the prince was there. He had to let Gaster go gather the surviving mages and plan how to get back to the castle safely. He called for a plain chair and began accepting people to speak with, feeling tired when the very first couple were parents of one of the dead. He struggled through, even when Toriel returned, dry eyed and somber. It was late when they ate, secluded in the kitchen to avoid facing the long, empty table where many of the dead would usually eat. 

Asgore was quietly avoiding staying alone with Toriel, Gaster serving as a not so subtle barrier between the two. He ate the snail salad, poking at it really. Toriel sighed when he put the bowl down, barely touched. “You should eat more prince.” 

“I’m not feeling up to it. I just.” He could feel the lord’s arm disintegrating under his paw, now that he had time to think, and, yes, it didn’t take much for him to suddenly throw up what he’d eaten. Paws and hands were on his back, supporting him as he wiped his mouth. Toriel was pulling him up, Gaster’s hands glowing a deep blue as they cooled his fur. 

“I’ll take him to bed. Can you find someone to clean for us?” Asgore felt Toriel’s claws against his arm. He tried to smile at Gaster but apparently his cheek muscles were connected to his stomach, and his legs, as both tried to lurch. Toriel caught him, stumbling a bit herself. His stomach was already empty, so his throat just burned. He tried to smile again, assure them that he was okay. He passed out instead.

It was morning when he woke in a familiar room. He often stayed over and had thus been given a guest room overlooking the gardens. The room was empty. It was quiet. He sat up, head swimming. He started to get up, trying not to think too hard as he dressed. He had packed extra clothes, and they had been carried up to his room while he’d been conversing with Gaster, so he pulled on clean clothes, scrubbing his face.

Asgore left his bedroom, half hoping he didn’t run into anyone immediately. He was more than slightly ashamed of passing out but.

Feeling someone dissolve to dust beneath his hands. Monsters were so fragile. And he was supposed to protect them. How could he? He wasn’t strong or clever with magic.

Unfortunately, he nearly tripped over a small green creature, who gave an indignant squeak after he hastily apologized, kneeling to be more level. From inside it’s gelatinous form, it pulled out a scrap of paper before bouncing off to continue delivering messages.

Asgore had to wipe it dry as he walked down, needing to find Toriel. Lady Toriel, he supposed now that her mother was passed, but the title would have to wait. He felt hands on his arm a moment before his name was called. 

“The humans are attacking the castle! They’re mad!” It was Toriel, rushing towards he and Gaster, eyes wide with shock and skirts pulled up to let her run. “I _told_ you we needed to go immediately! Now your parents are in danger.” 

“The castle? But it was built by humans. They’ll be safe, won’t they?” He flinched when Toriel got up to the pair of monsters, expecting to be hit. The piece of still damp paper slipped from his paw. 

“For a time. They’ll figure out how to get in. We need to leave now,” Toriel insisted. Asgore rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming this. Gaster noticed the paper, bending to pick it up and read. Without a sign, he passed it to Toriel to read too. “Asgore.”

“What?” He looked up from his palms, blinking when the paper was shoved in his nose to read. He took it, squinting. “Asheel?”

“Apparently that first murder was a trap. They caught some of the mages in an ambush. Asheel caught an arrow in the heart.” Toriel spoke matter of factly, but her voice remained soft, and now her paws were gentle as she took hold of Asgore’s. He felt Gaster’s hands too, both of them watching Asgore.

The world was blurry to him, but he pulled his paws away, closing his eyes before rubbing them harshly. “I’m sorry Tori. You were right. We should go now.” He felt her muzzle against his, not in a kiss, but to gently nuzzle. “Gaster?” He pulled away slightly, looking to the skeleton. “Are we ready to go?” The skeleton took a moment before nodding. “Good. We need to…find and protect the rest of my family until the humans calm down.”

They both nodded before Gaster turned and left to gather the monsters and few humans who had refused to leave their friends’ sides. Toriel stepped closer, this time kissing his cheek. “We’ll figure out what to do,” she promised, stepping away again. Asgore caught her hand, squeezing it.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“No one does,” she replied, giving a sad smile, reaching up to smooth the fur on his face. “I don’t think these humans even know what they’re doing.” He shook his head, feeling like his stomach was lead. 

“They know exactly what they are doing. But I don’t know how long they’ve been planning this. It’s all happening too fast.” 

“We’ll stop them. They can’t kill us all.”


	4. Chapter 4

“How many today?” The king sat at the head of a table in the throne room, fingers steepled. Asgroc and Asgore were on one side, the queen and Toriel on the other. Gaster was gone, off to consult the stars as the sun set to see what they might could do. 

“Twelve more refugees arrived today,” Toriel said, paws folded on the table in front of her. She looked exhausted. The castle had become a last resort for many of the monsters in the surrounding area, meaning it was crowded with animals and sentient piles of fire and goo everywhere. Toriel was attempting to help families stay together and stay fed, but the pantry was beginning to run low. “We’re running out of supplies for everyone. If this lasts much longer, they’re going to starve us out.” 

“We’ll get more supplies when our spies return,” the queen said softly. She looked equally worn from tending the wounded. Asgroc shifted but said nothing.

“The humans are getting restless,” the king said quietly, earning him an incredulous look from both his sons.

“We’re being slaughtered Father, and that’s all you can say?” Asgroc asked, claws curling around the trident. “We need to wipe them out.”

“They’re doing that to us,” Asgore said quietly. “We need to figure out what they want.” 

“Land, resources, our crown. They’re afraid of our magic and don’t understand how we age. They just want us gone.” That was Toriel.

“They want to feel like they’re strong, and we’re an easy target.” That as Asgroc, and he stood, starting to pace. “Our best mages and fighters have turned to dust. We’re not going to last much longer.” There was silence as the five monsters contemplated the lives lost and the lives that would be lost if something didn’t happen now to stop.

“Mount Ebott,” the queen said suddenly. When the others looked at her, she smiled. “Don’t you remember the stories? I read them to the boys when they were babies.” 

“I remember,” Asgroc said, dark eyes brightening. “You would have to read them to Asgore like three times before he would finally go to sleep. He was so scared of the dark otherwise.” 

“You were afraid of the dark?” Toriel asked, struggling to hide a smile pulling at her lips. Asgore just groaned, hiding his face. 

“Anyway, the stories I read talked about how the mountain was where humans and monsters came from. Supposedly, there’s a city there. We could retreat there, perhaps, take care of our people while the humans calm down.” 

“Mount Ebott is three day’s travel away, and there are over a hundred of us with few people who can defend the others,” Asgroc said quickly. The king was silent, lost in thought. 

“We could divide into small groups and go, maybe every couple of days.” Toriel was siding with the queen now, looking thoughtful. 

“There’s still not enough capable fighters to defend each group,” Asgroc repeated, the trident striking the tile ground as he pushed away from the table. “We could lose even more trying to get there.”

“We’d be able to get other monsters on the way.”

“Like that’s going to stop the humans from figuring out what we’re doing and ambushing the groups. One human could probably take out ten of us by ourselves!” Asgroc stood now. “I’m not risking the lives of our people!”

“We’re going to starve if we just stay here!” Toriel was up too, just as stubborn as Asgore’s elder brother. “At least if we go to the mountain, there’s a chance for peace!”

“If the stories are true! It could just be a mountain!” Asgroc was starting to growl when the king hit the table with the palms of both hands.

“Enough! We don’t have the energy to argue about this now. We have a duty to the monsters looking to us for protection. Asgroc, go make sure our defenses are still in place. Lady Toriel, please assist Gaster in his research. You find it the easiest to speak with him.” When the two left, both aggravated, the king turned to Asgore. “You were very quiet.”

“Sorry Father. Asgroc and Lady Toriel both have valid points. I’m just trying to see what the best solution might be.” In reality, once he’d gotten over his embarrassment about being afraid of the dark, his brother and betrothed were already fighting and he didn’t want to turn either of their wrath on him. 

“What do you think we should do? Continue to fight, or attempt to retreat?” 

The question sent a cold chill down his spine. He stood quickly, knocking over his chair in his rush. “I have to think about it Father. I’m…I’m going to find Gaster and Lady Toriel and help do…things. I’ll tell you later, right?” He didn’t really wait before he rushed off to the astronomy tower. 

Toriel was sitting with Gaster, signing with a sour look on her face. She turned when Asgore entered, sighing. Gaster turned too, to see what she was looking at, brightening until he saw that Asgore looked about as happy as Toriel.

“Have you come to chew me out?” Toriel asked, not really moving from where she had sat on the floor. She and Gaster were under the window that looked out to the stars. Gaster had notes scattered about, and Asgore moved some of the papers around before he sat by them.

“No, I’m not,” he said tiredly, settling with an audible pop of his back. Gaster reached out, patting his knee. He gave a slight wave. “Hi Gaster. I’m okay.” Just tired. “How much did you tell him?

“Everything. We have too many people to sustain, even with your family’s orchards, and your brother is, quite frankly, an ass. Are you sure he’s supposed to become king? Asheel…” She trailed off, pausing and looking at Asgore. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine.” He waved her off. “There’s been more too much loss to worry about being sensitive.” He took Gaster’s hand, squeezing it and garnering a smile from the skeleton. “What do the stars say?” 

“Not a lot.” Toriel sighed again, picking up a few of the sheets, starting to put them in some sort of order Asgore wasn’t going to hope to understand. “The stars are being cryptic, according to Gaster. So they won’t give us the answers either.” 

Gaster started signing rapidly, having caught the gist of everything. Toriel watched, starting to chew on her lip. “I told you, Asgroc would probably sooner skewer me than listen to reason.”

“He won’t do that. You’re my betrothed. My family is supposed to protect you,” Asgore said quickly, making Toriel laugh, politely hiding it behind a paw. Asgore pulled his legs up, glaring out the window, embarrassed, until hands on either side of him pressed against his shoulders. He was in the middle of a hug, and one could not go through a group hug without eventually reciprocating. 

He pulled Toriel and Gaster close, sighing. “Father wanted me to decide what to do. I don’t know if he was just trying to test me or if it was serious.” 

Gaster sat back, holding up several fingers, flashing them. Leaning against Toriel’s slighter frame, he watched Gaster thinking some problem out. When he snapped his bony fingers, he made his friends jump all the same, and then he started signing so rapidly Toriel had to stop him and make him slow down. 

“Do you think something like that would work?” she asked, not even bothering to translate, which frustrated Asgore. He pulled away from Toriel, watching them both. “I don’t know how they would agree with that though.”

“Agree with what?” he finally asked, getting more annoyed as he was ignored. Toriel looked up, eyes suddenly bright.

“Of course, I’m very sorry Prince Dreemurr. Gaster said we could split up our parties so that our best fighters would go and lead each group.” 

“But that’d only leave two or three groups. And there’s too many monsters. We’d get noticed,” Asgore said, brow furrowing when Toriel started shaking her head. “What?”

“Our best fighters are boss monsters. Of which the entire family, myself, and Gaster are,” she pointed out. At Asgore’s blank look, she continued. “The fighters don’t have to kill the humans. They just have to distract them long enough for everyone to scatter.”

“So…if Father, Mother, Asgroc, myself, you, and Gaster…” He wasn’t sure he liked Gaster being in charge of a group. He wasn’t even sure Gaster was a boss monster like Toriel said. No one knew too much where he came from, just that he had been adopted by the Atu’s household when he was very young. “We have how many people now?”

“About seventy-five now. Probably a little less by the time we get everyone out,” she said honestly. 

Asgore sighed and nodded. “Okay. So we split into five groups of about 15. Still large, but easy enough to scatter,” he said softly. “And Mount Ebott, it’s only a couple days away. The worst thing that happens is we have to hide in a different country for awhile. But we’d lose the castle, probably the country.”

“If we stay, we get killed.” Toriel was signing for Gaster but speaking on her own as well. It wasn’t quite an argument, just a stern reminder. “All of us. But if we go to Mount Ebott –”

“If Mount Ebott is truly as my mother’s stories,” Asgore interrupted, earning a glare from Toriel.

“But if we go to Mount Ebott,” she continued, “We can regroup and regrow. Maybe we can even create our own country of monsters so the humans won’t have to worry about us for a long time.”

“True.” Asgore sighed. There wasn’t a better option. It was escape and potentially lose some of the people his family was supposed to protect. Or remain in the safe walls of the castle until the humans finally overrun them or starve them out. He looked up at the sky out the window, sighing. “I’ll speak to my parents in the morning. So long as nothing else happens, I’m sure they’ll see that it’s the best solution.”

“I’m going to go to bed. Try and get some rest you two.” Toriel stood and left to go to her room. Asgore merely sighed and looked at Gaster.

“Are you planning to sleep?” The skeleton shook his head slightly, giving a timid smile before gesturing to the night sky. Asgore nodded slightly, leaning against him lightly. “Me neither,” he said softly. “I’ll stay with you while you work.” 

Gaster had no problem with that, merely making the prince move as he got up to inspect the night sky and take more notes. Asgore watched for awhile, eventually drifting off while leaning against the wall. Tomorrow was another day.


	5. Chapter 5

Asgore woke slowly the next morning, back and horns stiff, the back of his neck popping loudly as he started to move. Something slipped from around his shoulders, and when he finally cracked his eyes to peek at what it was, he nearly blinded himself with the morning sun.

The fabric pooling in his lap was Gaster’s coat. He smiled, shaking his head, realizing he was alone. He stood, folding the fabric over his arm before descending the stairs to the main portion of the castle, attempting to smooth his fur with a paw to look more presentable. 

Monsters were milling about, a couple pausing to bow as he passed by. But most were minding their own business. Some of the stronger monsters had injuries, roughly bound with cloth and bandages, whatever could be had. Some of them were grey, but they weren’t meant to be. Asgore felt his throat grow dry when he realized some of the groups would be smaller before they could all leave. 

“Asgore, there you are. We’re having a meeting.” Asgroc was walking behind him, moving fast to catch up. He looked just about as well slept as Asgore felt, the trident strapped to his back. “We’ve been looking for you for nearly an hour.”

“Sorry. I was in the tower.” He followed his brother back to where they had been the night before, noticing some of familiar faces had joined them, in addition to the boss monsters. Gaster was sitting next to Toriel, hands folded neatly on the table. He brightened when the brothers walked in, standing. Asgore passed his coat back to him, joining to sit on the other side of Toriel and trying to ignore the look she was giving him.

“Why’re we having another meeting so soon?” he asked, glancing at the new faces. They were leaders of families and towns. Asgroc and the king looked at him before shaking their heads slightly. 

“Lady Toriel said you had something important to say to everyone,” the queen finally said, voice soft.

“Oh.” He chewed on his lip, still determinedly not looking at Toriel, then stood. “All right then.” His heart was in his throat, having all these eyes staring at him. He stared somewhere over their heads, clearing his throat. “I think I’ve come up with a solution on what to do. It’s not the best plan, and it’s likely we’ll lose some of our people, but it appears it’s our only hope of survival of monsters in our country. We need to leave the castle.” 

“That would run us right into the humans! You’re just as thick as your betrothed, or else she’s been whispering in your ear – ” Asgroc was standing as well, but Asgore turned to him, face drawn into a snarl.

“Sit down and let me finish brother! You may be king one day, but not yet, and if you had your way, we’d kill ourselves on their blades until they’re coated with dust and we’re extinct. He felt his claws dig into the wood of the table, tearing little strips off in his hands. Asgroc looked surprised, but Asgore turned his head away before he could argue more. He could see Toriel signing out of the corner of his eye, translating for Gaster.

“We’ll divide into groups.” 

“It won’t – ”

“And each group,” he said, speaking up. “Will be lead by a boss monster. My family and Lady Toriel will each take a group and split off in different directions. Two groups will leave first, then the next two, then the last one with whomever is left.” He tapped the table nervously but kept talking, stubbornly not staring at anybody but making a dark blue rabbit obviously uncomfortable, sinking into their chair as he stared at their hair. “Lady Toriel and Father will go first, Mother and Asgroc second, and I will take care of the last group. We’ll meet at Mount Ebott. If we have the first group leave tonight, we might be able to be together again in five days.” And just like that, he’d run out of things to say. He blinked, feeling suddenly sick to his stomach, but locked his knees to avoid sitting down and passing out. 

“Asgore, I’m not so sure that’d work.” It was the king, but his wife placed a paw over his.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice.” There was a clatter as Asgroc actually shoved so far back his chair fell to the floor, the table going into Toriel’s stomach and Asgore’s knees, making him stumble back. Asgroc said nothing, just turned to leave, cracking the tile as he used the trident to punctuate his exit. The Dreemurrs watched after him as the others shifted uneasily.

“Gaster says we have the strongest chance with this,” Toriel said softly, eventually pulling out a star chart that had been heavily marked. “He and I charted this out a couple days ago, but we kept quiet because we knew the king wanted to hold out as long as possible.” Gaster had to stand to lean all the way out and point to the notes in question, and Toriel had to continue to explain, but the long and short of it was that there had been a clear indication that it was best to retreat in a couple days, and that was two days ago. 

Asgore had nearly passed out before the end of the talk, which then consisted of how to move the injured and how to pack food and what supplies might be needed for the move into the mountain. That entire time he managed to remain standing, despite repeated looks from his friends and a tug or two at his sleeve by Toriel. They hesitated as the meeting broke up, but left when Asgore’s mother and father pulled Asgore to the side. Neither of them were smiling.

“This is going to be dangerous,” the queen said first, reaching up to touch Asgore’s cheek, fingers stroking through the short white fur on his cheek. “Especially for you.”

“Mother, I’m not going to fight,” he said softly, leaning down to hug her. “I’ll distract and run away.” He felt her grip tighten around his shoulders and he lifted his arms to hug her back. “I’d be more worried about Asgroc. He’s craving human blood.” 

“He’ll be craving your blood once we get to Ebott safely.” The king waited, then pulled Asgore into a tight hug. Asgore was still short enough to find his snout bumped into his father’s shoulder before he lifted it. He hugged back, only to get crushed. “But we will get there, all of us.” When Asgore pulled back, he found himself fixed with a piercing stare that had him nodding.

“You need to take Gaster with you, for extra protection. He’s the best mage that remains.” 

“Mom, no, he needs to go with one of you or Tori, not me. I’ll – ” He shut up at both their faces, jaw snapping closed with an audible click of his fangs. 

“You’re the weakest of us Azzy,” his mother reproached. “Take him. He’ll keep you and your group safe.”

“You’ll be having the sickest monsters along with you anyway. You need him.” 

He nodded, closing his eyes as he sighed. “Please, be careful,” he whispered. “We’ve already lost Asheel and so many of our friends. I don’t want to lose you too.” 

“You won’t,” they promised, then they were called away. Asgore watched them and sighed. Soon enough they’d be together under the mountain. He vaguely remembered stories of crystal stars and wondered if those were real. 

The day passed in a blur, and not just because he forgot to eat until it was well towards evening. Figures talked to him, he could remember Toriel thanking him for a job well done, but other than that he remembered nothing that happened. He did know his brother was conspicuously absent. His was the first group to go, and that evening he stood with the others wanting to wave off the refugees.

The castle had a series of secret tunnels that only those who belonged in the royal family knew about. They were a last resort, meant to be taken then buried by magic or explosion. The one Asgroc’s group was taking led to the South and was the quickest route to the mountain, as they had made it a bit larger with twenty.

Mother, eldest son, and father stood together, speaking quietly. Asgore was a little bit apart, watching them, knowing if he went forward he’d probably make things worse. 

He didn’t step forward. He watched Asgroc leave. He kept silent as his mother cried. Toriel left through the North entrance thirty minutes later, grim faced. The castle felt emptier without the forty odd monsters that had gone with the two boss monsters. He started towards him room, feeling nauseous when there was a tug on his sleeve. When he looked down, he saw Gaster giving him an anxious look. He attempted a smile, lifting his paw to pull the skeleton close.

“She’ll be okay,” he promised, pulling away and repeating himself for Gaster to see. Gaster nodded, still looking worried. He took Asgore’s paw and squeezed. “Do you want to stay with me tonight?” Another nod. He scooped the thin monster up, setting him on his shoulder. A hand wrapped around his horn, and he started towards his room again.

They fell asleep much like they had as children, curled up in each other’s space, with Gaster facing the window to catch a glimpse of the night sky.


	6. Chapter 6

The queen and king left early the next day without a fuss. Now it was just Asgore, Gaster, and a handful of monsters, most of whom were injured in some way. Asgore found himself wiping his paws on his pants several times that day, walking around in the upper levels of the castle to look out. He could see the gardens, ground torn and flowers smashed from the amount of people that’d been in the little castle, then out, past the protective wall. He’d not actually looked out that far in the past week.

The sight made his stomach wrench. There were no trees anymore, not within a hundred yards of the castle. He could see humans milling about like so many ants, planning, plotting, whatever it was they did. The ground looked brown from a distance. He imagined it was mud.

There was a tug on his sleeve. He looked down, expecting Gaster to have found him, but it was a little reptile looking creature with teeth far too big for its mouth. He smiled, squatting. “What is it little one?” he asked.

“Are we really going to be thafe?” the little monster asked. Asgore felt his chest tighten, but he kept smiling. He could be strong for this little monster. He had to be. When he nodded, the monster clung to his cloak, at least until Asgore brought them into a hug. 

“What’s your name little one?” he asked. They couldn’t be more than six years old. Where were their parents?

“Adelaide. I was with Lady Atu and Gaster when we came over.” They sniffed, rubbing at their eyes. “Papa worked with Gaster and the other mages.” Meaning, he was dead, most likely. Asgore shifted, standing with the child, and placing them between his horns on his head. Their dirty feet kicked at his ears, but he still smiled when he felt their little hands hold onto his curved horns. 

“Stay right there Adelaide and we’ll make sure to reunite with Lady Atu safely,” he promised, walking to find someone to take care of the child. Instead, he gathered a small group of five children, and soon he was brought down, laughing, as they clambered on him, eager to play on their impromptu climbing set. Asgore let out a playful growl, nipping lightly at a tail wagging in his face, rewarded with a playful shriek as he got on his hands and feet. He wriggled and pounced, missing the selfsame tail, but felt a hard headbutt in his side. Dramatically he fell over, baa’ing out his death and sticking out his tongue as little bodies climbed on top to proclaim their victory.

He peeked when he heard footsteps, smiling up at Gaster before a kid attempted standing on his stomach, making all the air whoosh out of his lungs in surprise. Then the kid jumped, and soon they all were. He had to scoop them up, wheezing, while Gaster laughed politely behind his hand. “Okay, okay, those humans are definitely no match for you ruffians. Now let me try and catch my breath, okay?” The children squirmed and struggled for a few minutes before they agreed, and he let them go with a happy huff. Gaster extended a hand to help him up, but he didn’t take it as they both knew he’d just pull the thin monster down.

“The little yellow one was worried about Toriel,” he said as explanation. Gaster just looked at him, starting to smile, and making him very steadily grow warm under the cloak and fur until he looked away. He heard Gaster laughing, a strange huffing sound that just made him hunch his shoulders a bit, embarrassed. Then he felt a hand on his arm and glanced at Gaster again. “Yeah, I know, you’re not laughing at me. It’s just nice…to forget for a bit.” He wrapped an arm around Gaster, pulling him into a bear hug until he could feel the skeleton start signing against his stomach. When he let go, Asgore was grinning. 

“Come on, I knew you were there. I wasn’t going to forget or something stupid, and crush you.” That earned him a disapproving look but he just shrugged. “So, you said the stars were positive for running off like this? Do you think the others have made it safely?”

Gaster nodded, and Asgore let out a little sigh of relief. “I should pack up what I have left then. See you when it’s time to go.” He left the skeleton with a second hug, realizing he hadn’t even begun to get a pack together. It was quite possible he thought that it’d never get to this point.

In his bedroom, he realized he had far too many things. He narrowed it down to a pack of clothes and one of his favorite spears. When he went back down, it was to find nobody was quite prepared. He started helping, packing bags and gathering what could be used as weapons.

More spears, a sword, kitchen knives. Sticks for the children.

All in all, it was a group of thirteen, Gaster and Asgore rounding it out to fifteen. He swallowed, eyeing the older members holding onto sleepy children. There wasn’t a person here who wasn’t hindered in some way. Too young, too old, injured, deaf and mute, or…well. Asgore felt he was more a hindrance than a help. But he had to lead. He was all they had right now.

“Okay, we’re going through the South exit. It’s a long walk underground, but we should be able to get past the humans camping outside. From there, we’ll run until we’re back into safety. Does everyone have a buddy?” There were several nods. “We showed you were Mount Ebott is. Just go South, as straight as you can. And don’t fight. Always run. Even if there are three of you and only one human. You can’t take the chance.” More nods. He looked about one more time, tightening his grip on his spear. “All right, let’s get started then. We’ll be home soon.” 

They started towards the exit, down in the lowest cellars. Asgore led the group, lighting a fireball in his free paw, while Gaster took the rear, his own hands aglow with blue light. It was quiet, except for the sound of water dripping, feet and tails dragging through the damp dirt. Asgore was tense as they walked, thinking. Under the garden. Now under the wall. The air grew damp. They were under the moat. Which meant now they were near the humans. Air caught in his throat, setting off a coughing fit. Paws touched his cloak, but he couldn’t turn. He just swallowed back the pain and kept going. 

They were nearly out of the tunnel now, weren’t they? It was only meant to be a mile long. Everything was getting hot and it all looked the same. He couldn’t stop either, so he just shrugged the cloak off his shoulders, choking as all the weight went to his throat. He struggled against it, trying to pull it off or something, just to keep from suffocating or dying from the heat.

In hindsight, that’s why he didn’t hear them.

They were near the end of the tunnel as the dirt turned to stone and they entered an actual cave. He paused to let the other know, and then

Fire, not just his or Gaster’s bright yellow and bright

blinding. Screaming from the few with him, and then heat.

His cape was aflame! He ripped it off his throat and tried to see who he could throw it at but all he could see were shadows and blue and yellow and there was so much screaming screaming screaming

He lunged at the nearest human, speak piercing their bare chest with ease. He heard yelling turn to a bellow then a roar and it took a moment for him to realize

That was him. 

He felt a pain in his side suddenly and looked to see metal that wasn’t there before. Cold steel attached to attached to

Nothing now. Blue fire tore the metal limb from its owner and there was another shadow with pale limbs settling next to the prince. Asgore let out another roar and then the humans couldn’t touch them. Blue blocked their path long enough for them to run, scrambling falling

choking on dust. 

Panicked breathing filled his ears and his side seared with pain. He was faintly aware of carrying the broken staff of his spear and a body, alive or unconscious he wasn’t sure. He looked down and saw yellow and large, sharp teeth. Then he kept running.

His side was burning. He wanted to stop, to fall, to give up but he couldn’t. He could still hear them, their screams ringing in his ears.

He was no leader, he was no prince. He was just a frightened animal, running as far and fast as he could until the burning reached his legs and he fell in the leaves, barely remembering to land on his shoulder to spare the child in his arms.


	7. Chapter 7

Whoever was shaking him was more than welcome to give up and leave. Asgore wasn’t having any of it, even if he hadn’t been aware of what was happening for more than maybe twenty seconds. He grunted and his left leg twitched from the spasm of pain that went through it thanks to said grunt.

Okay, the slap was uncalled for. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting against bright morning light. Immediately, his heart took off, and he jumped up, only to fall right back down as the wound in his side _screamed_ at him to stop moving. He fell right into dust, a very small pile of grayish-white dust.

The child. Then who - ?

A skeletal hand with a hole missing from the palm slapped him again, making Asgore stagger as the wound sent a wave of pain up and down his spinal column. He found himself staring up at Gaster, the slim figure towering over the fallen prince. Asgore didn’t attempt to right the height difference, sinking down instead, ignoring the dust.

He’d failed. He deserved more than just a slap. He ought to be dust himself. He didn’t move until a weight plopped down on his stomach, and slight as it was, it still hurt. He twitched, until there was a third slap and he let out a weak growl. That earned him a pat on the snout, and he blinked, finally focusing on Gaster.

The skeleton stared at him, waiting. When Asgore sighed and turned his head away, he got yet another slap, making him turn and huff at the skeleton. “What?” When Gaster glared at him, he started to turn his face away again.

Slap! The hollow portions of Gaster’s palms were starting to hurt. Asgore caught one of his hands, gripping it firmly as he met Gaster’s eyes. “Stop. Why are you slapping me?” Gaster glared, and once again Asgore turned his head. Slap! The other hand was still free, and Asgore growled, catching it too. “Stop it! I just want to give up and die in peace.” He closed his eyes, expecting it to be over, but he got a headbutt, right under the chin. It hurt, sending tears to his eyes. “Ow! Gaster, stop it!” He glared at the skeleton, only to find he wasn’t the only one starting to cry.

He watched Gaster, eventually releasing his hands to let him wipe the tears away, but he didn’t. Gaster let the tears flow, until Asgore was forcing himself to sit up, using a paw to gingerly wipe them away. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I failed. We were supposed to get them to Mount Ebott safe and…and.” He had been lying on the remains of a child. He made a face, but he hadn’t eaten very much the night before and thus didn’t have a lot to actually throw up.

Gaster wrapped his arms around Asgore, hugging him as tight as he could before letting go, scooting back and up. Asgore started to stand but he let out a slow hiss of pain, sinking onto the ground again. At Gaster’s look, he raised a paw, the other wrapped around his stomach. “I got stabbed. I’m not giving up, honest. I’m just hurting.” 

That almost was as bad. Gaster knelt immediately and pulled Asgore’s hand away, signing something as he noticed how bloodstained Asgore’s top was. Asgore helped pull the shirt off, letting it tear when he forgot to undo the button on the back of his collar. His fur was caked with dry blood, and when nimble fingers began to thread through it to find the actual wound, fresh blood started to flow. Gaster kept working, until he had the wound uncovered, wincing sympathetically.

“Did anyone besides us escape?” Asgore asked, a paw full of crumpled leaves as Gaster traced the stab wound, little noises escaping like the creaking of his bones. Gaster gave a slight shrug, thin shoulders rounding. He picked up the shirt, handing it to Asgore to tear into strips. Those got bound around his side and then he had to crawl to a tree to stand again.

Gaster couldn’t support him, but the forest made it easier to walk, and by the end of the day, he was in such pain that his left side had gone numb. It was cold without a shirt, so when he slid to the ground again to rest, he began to shiver. Gaster slid close, wrapping his arms and coat around Asgore the best he could. The prince helped, pulling Gaster in his lap while the skeleton wriggled about to look at the stars. 

They woke with frost in their joints and fur, but it did have the positive side effect of chilling the wound. It was still hard to walk, like someone had shortened one of the muscles in his leg and he could only stagger between trees like a drunk.

But there were no humans, no monsters. Only the forest animals and the sound of their breathing for company. At least until night. As the sun fell, they heard new sounds.

People. But monster or human it was unsure. Gaster slipped ahead, carrying a sturdy stick with him. When he returned, he was grinning, with a crocodile and dog following him. As soon as the pair saw Asgore, they passed Gaster.

“Prince Dreemurr, you’re alive!”

“Come on, we have a camp set up at the base of the mountain. We’ll get you bandaged up properly.” 

“Wait, G-gaster, my parents? My brother?” But the monsters were strong and with Gaster’s encouragement, they picked up the heavy monster and carried him into camp.

Monsters milled about a few small fires, attempts at tents or lean to’s scattered about. It was pathetic. A thriving population, decimated in less than a month. 

The monsters who saw the prince enter hurried to follow, and soon a crowd of forty or so were crowded around the tent he was put in for privacy. He strained to listen, but his head was fuzzy, and he wanted to close his eyes and rest for a bit before finding his family.

“Gaster,” he called again, when hands started pulling his rough bandages off, making him squirm and bite his lip when dried blood pulled away and it started to bleed again.

“It’s deep,” someone said, a clean, warm finger pushing against the sides of the wounds. “We need water.” When Asgore started to growl, he felt a familiar hand slip into his paw and glanced over. Gaster was in the tiny tent, pressed close to the prince’s side. Asgore decided to focus on Gaster, the hand in his, the coat against his side and back. The person poking at his side washed the wound and began to stitch it, making him growl again. He growled more when he looked and saw that at some point he had been shaved. But he didn’t get to see it long. Fresh clothes were wrapped over his side and stomach, and he was given a tunic to wear. It was a little short and tight on him, but it was warm, which was the most important thing.

“Are my parents here? Asgroc? Lady Toriel?” he asked the crocodile as they left, but he didn’t get an answer. Asgore frowned, shifting to try and crawl out of the tent. His horn caught the rod holding it up, and the entire thing went down.

Gaster started laughing when the cloth got tangled in his horns, making Asgore start to whine pathetically. Between the two of them, and a couple others, the prince was able to escape with his friend, standing in front of the entirety of the camp crowded around the collapsed tent.

He blinked, tugging on the tunic instinctively, then grabbing Gaster’s coat when he tried to slink off. “Is this everyone?” he asked, face falling when he didn’t see his tall family or betrothed.

“Yes,” someone was saying, possibly the crocodile again, who was lingering to watch the prince, make sure he didn’t collapse right there. 

“Asgore! Gaster!” There was a flash of black and navy and white, and suddenly Asgore was falling, pain sparking up his side, when a set of strong claws tore his tunic to keep him upright. Gaster was pressed up against his side too as they were pulled into a tight hug by Toriel.

“Tori,” Asgore gasped, the pain making it hard to breathe. He whimpered as he was released, smiling weakly. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay.” 

Toriel’s eyes were full of tears. “We heard that you were ambushed. And your parents…”

“What about them?” He tensed, looking around. He would not survive a hug from his father. But when he didn’t see them, he looked at Toriel, who was giving him this fearful look. “And Asgroc?”

This time, the crowd parted as a diminutive figure came up, holding a familiar trident. The monster knelt, holding the trident over their head, keeping it bowed. 

“We found it in…in…just a day’s journey from the mountain,” Toriel explained, holding a paw over her mouth to try and keep herself from crying. 

Asgore was staring at the trident, feeling cold, and it wasn’t just the draft from the torn tunic. He took the trident, letting the monster drop their arms. 

Dead. Dust. He was alone.

Movement startled him from staring at the sheen on the trident, the dried blood on the prongs. His brother had not gone meekly into the night. But that was not the focus. Right now, there were monsters moving around him.

The people were bowing. His people. Only his people. The trident was heavy in his hand. 

Toriel and Gaster were bowing too, watching him from the corner of their eyes to make sure he was okay. He dropped the trident, backing away.

“I can’t,” he said quietly, but that was drowned out by the yelling. And the fire. 

Humans! 

They had been waiting in the shadows, watching the monsters regroup, and now they had to scatter, running away, the only way they could. The humans were on all sides, except for one. The monsters ran that way, abandoning everything except what they held. 

Up the mountain, helping little ones, weak ones, a mad dash. Asgore slipped and fell, only to have Toriel drag him up, Gaster falling back to protect those he could with his magic. The crocodile had to pick him up and push the skeleton up the mountain, letting someone grab him and push up, saving him from the humans as the crocodile fell back and burst into dust.

There was a cave, and the humans were falling back, still whooping and tossing dust after their fleeing backs. The cave was deep, so deep. The monsters pushed in as deep as they could go, frightened and wary of staying too far out in the open.

The caves went deeper and deeper and the monsters started to slow when they saw glowing. Crystals, embedded in the walls, in the ceiling, giving them light. 

The night monsters’ eyes glowed from the light. Gaster’s eyes too glowed, his bones purple in the odd light. The monsters collapsed where they stood, Asgore slipping down himself. His side hurt. His heart hurt. Everything hurt.

From a city of two thousand, he thought. They were from a city of two thousand monsters and humans. Down to a hundred in the castle. Sixty at the base of the mountain. 

Now it looked they were down to fifty. Asgore sighed, burying his face in his hands. He didn’t move when he felt hands on him, knowing it was Gaster. When he was headbutted, he looked up, at Gaster sadly. “If you plan on slapping, save your hands. I…there’s not a point.” 

Gaster lifted a hand to wipe at Asgore’s cheeks, knowing he was crying. He shuffled forward, bumping him gently, like a kiss on his cheek. Asgore pulled him close, watching the others from the corner of his eyes. Toriel was checking on the others, trying to make sure they were warm, being a leader. Asgore buried his face in Gaster’s shoulder, muffling a broken sob.

He was no leader. His father, his mother, they were leaders. Asgroc was a leader. Toriel was a leader. He was a failure and a coward. He couldn’t save a little child. How was he supposed to protect what was left here? 

They were going to die where they slept.

He still had his snout buried in Gaster’s chest, the skeleton smoothing the fur between his horns gently, when there was a quiet sound from nearby. Both looked up and saw a shy creature, holding a familiar object. 

“Prince Dreemurr, you dropped this.” They held the trident out again. When Asgore hesitated, they set it next to him before giving him a hug. “I’m sorry your mommy and daddy died.” 

Asgore gently hugged them back, stroking their back gently. “I am too,” he agreed softly, smiling when the tiny monster purred. “Thank you.”

The child ended up curling against his side, clinging to the fur on his arm. A couple other children, older ones mainly, came over after awhile, using the prince as a pillow. Gaster smiled, curling up in his already claimed spot on Asgore’s lap, hand curled in the tunic. As they fell asleep, Asgore stared at the trident, then the children.

He wasn’t brave, he wasn’t a leader, but he gave these children hope, it seemed. He couldn’t give up on them yet. Not while they still believed in him. 

When he woke, it was to hear the shouting of a voice. A human voice from where they had fled.


	8. Chapter 8

“Monsters, come on out! We know you’re in there!” 

The children that had piled on Asgore were awake now, and most of them had shifted away from where the entrance of the cave was. Some of the adults had taken to hiding behind the large prince as well. Toriel was staring, lips pulls back in a silent growl. 

“What do we do?” 

Asgore shifted, grabbing the trident to help him get up. His side throbbed painfully. He felt paws and hands on his sides, his arms. His people were helping him stand, even as he leaned on the trident until the pain passed. 

“Prince Dreemurr, we can’t fight. They’ll kill us all.” 

He closed his eyes. Well, there was a chance that he could save them at least. “I’m going to talk. Lady Toriel and Gaster will stay here.” 

“No, we won’t!” Toriel frowned, glaring at him now, hands on her hips. Gaster was staring too, shaking his head slowly. It wasn’t safe.

Asgore growled low despite himself. “Tori, if we both go, they can all too easily take out the two most likely to lead whoever is left. You need to stay. You’re more capable of keeping everyone calm.” 

She stared at him, ready to snap back a smart retort, but Gaster caught her attention, signing rapidly. She sighed, closing her eyes. “You don’t let any of those humans touch him.” Gaster nodded, walking closer to Asgore, slipping his hand in the prince’s paw. Asgore looked down at him, then at Toriel, frowning. But he didn’t argue. He was grateful. Gaster could stop the humans from going into the cave if need be. 

“Be careful Prince.” He was being touched again. His grip on the trident tightened. Everyone looked so afraid. So he smiled, lifting the trident and forcing himself to stand tall. 

“I will. We will be fine. I’m certain we’ll be okay. We’ll make sure the humans no longer bother us. We can live here and be safe.” They didn’t look entirely comforted, but Asgore couldn’t wait anymore. He didn’t want to risk the humans (who had been yelling this entire time) coming in.

He started out, squeezing Gaster’s hand before letting it go. Gaster trailed behind him, little more than a shadow. 

There were seven humans standing there, all adults. Asgore watched them shrink back at his size. It wasn’t comforting, especially when he saw their blades. He squeezed the trident, hoping the thin rod would bring comfort.

“Prince Dreemurr.” The foremost human was grinning. He had cuts on his face and arms, mostly fresh. Asgore felt a sickened pride in whatever monster had clawed him up before dying. “It’s an honor to be graced with royalty’s presence.” There was a chitter of laughter from the humans, which only grew more when the man gave a mocking bow. 

“You called me out here. What would you like to discuss?” At least his voice was calm, if a bit quieter than he liked. He shifted the trident to cross in front of his body. Between him and Gaster they could maybe take out three of four of these humans before dying themselves. Every word, every movement elicited more laughter from them. He frowned, his features hardening into a mask.

“Let’s start with, oh, I don’t know the terms of your surrender, prince. Or are you king now that your father and brothers are dead?”

Asgore tensed, his muscles tight with the sudden desire to tear into and slaughter the humans before him. They were small, meaty, it would be so easy. They weren’t even wearing armor.

A hand on his back kept him from lashing out. Instead he swallowed, grip on the trident tighter than ever. “We have not picked a new king yet. Our paws have been rather full up until now. As for our terms, we have none. We have retreated to our old homes. You have the castle, you have the lands. I only ask – ”

“Ask? You don’t get to ask anything! There’s twenty more of us waiting with weapons and armor. We can kill you off now and go throughout the country, weeding out the rest of you monsters, or you can take _our_ deal.” The grins didn’t stop from the humans. 

“Fine. What is your deal?” He felt his face was hot from humiliation. What was going on? What sort of deal were the humans willing to give after more than decimating their population. 

The lead human gestured, and a second and third person walked forward. One was missing an arm, an unfortunately old wound, and the third looked very frail. The one armed man held a heavy box cradled in his one massive arm, while his partner opened it, removing from it a massive blue stone. When it was passed from the man to Asgore, it began to glow, the weight incredibly heavy in hand. Gaster leaned closer, curious.

“We have six more stones of similar quality to this. As I’m sure you can tell, they contain amplifying magic. Enough that even we humans can use the power of our souls to trap you lot away in this mountain forever.” 

“What?” Asgore’s not so solid façade vanished at that. “How are we supposed to agree to that? It’s a prison sentence for us and our children. We’d never see the sun again!”

The humans were still grinning. “You’ll accept it because if you do, we’ll round up the rest of the monsters in our land and not kill you all. Or do you really want to doom everyone to die?” The humans started to move towards the cave behind Asgore, making him move forward reflexively, brandishing the trident. That made them laugh, not moving back. “It take that as a no.” 

“So our choices are die or condemn ourselves to letting you lock us up,” he said slowly, frowning. “That doesn’t seem like much of a choice.”

“It’s the only one you have, my dear prince. Die now, or retreat with your tail between your legs and survive until another day.” 

Asgore was still frowning, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot now. He glanced at Gaster, who was staring back at him without comment. There would be no help coming from him.

Death or jail. Death or jail. He could feel their stares, the weight of unknown lives. In the end, he couldn’t condemn them to death. He met the human’s eyes, his gaze dark. “Fine. Imprison us. But if you harm another monster, I will know. And I will hunt you down and kill you.” Or, more likely, die trying. “How long until you gather my people?”

“Oh, your people? I thought we were your people too,” the human said with a shake of his head. “Oh, how the tides turn.” 

“You know you forsake your kinship the moment you turned against your king.” Asgore watched them laugh again. He was really beginning to consider slapping them to just end this whole mess. 

“We’ll be back in three days time. We’ve already got a substantial number of monesters…tied up back at camp. It’ll give us enough time to ferret any other monsters out that went into hiding as soon as they heard their precious leaders had holed up in the castle to hide from us big bad humans. We – ”

“No.” Asgore had been interrupted enough. It was his turn.

“No?” The word was spat in his face.

“That’s not enough time. Seven days, from tomorrow. And we can go out and purchase supplies from the nearest towns.” He watched them, almost smiling as they stared up at him, dumbfounded. “Otherwise, you will leave us alone, and at the end of the seven days, you can lock us into our prison.” He turned, leaving his back exposed. “Come on Gaster. We should prepare to go into town for supplies.” 

The humans did not attempt to cut them down, even though Gaster kept looking back at them worriedly and Asgore was tense, prepared to defend Gaster and himself. They had just turned out of sight when there was a final shout.

“Some king you are! You just watch, your people will hate you one day. They’ll wish you had let them die!” Asgore ground his teeth together as he walked back, staring more at the ground in front of him than where he was going. So the noises of surprise and relief startled him almost as much as suddenly being hit by several bodies at once. 

Toriel approached more slowly than the young ones currently hugging the prince’s legs and waist, smiling in relief. She looked at Gaster first, who shook his head. He hadn’t been able to catch everything that had been said and he was really curious about those stones. 

“So, what did the humans say?” Toriel and the older monsters were watching Asgore closely as he set the trident aside to kneel and hug the children. He focused on them for awhile, waiting for them to calm before he sighed and stood once more.

“The humans have agreed to allow us to live here in peace. They will be giving us a week to collect supplies and send our brethren to the mountain unharmed.” The relief was palatable, and the monsters began to scatter before he could continue. He bit back the prison sentence they were to have, watching his people wander, exploring deeper with a friend, going up to him for words of comfort. He sighed, closing his eyes and letting relief flood through him. The humans were wrong. This was the right choice. He just had to remain strong for his people. And to do that, he’d have to make some hard choices, for the benefit of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it important to say that I do enjoy the comments and love everyone is giving this. Thank you so much for enjoying these ramblings. :)


	9. Chapter 9

A week was usually neverending. A lot could happen in a week. The world could end in a week.

It felt a lot like the world was ending for Asgore. 

When they went to the nearest village for supplies, they found themselves nearly attacked. Apparently the humans had neglected to inform each other of the current peace. Still, Asgore was able to talk them down and get the things they’d need. Food, seeds, tools for working rock and dirt. When they returned to the cave, they found their numbers had swelled to a hundred with the first wave of monsters that had joined them.

The next day more monsters came, with packs heavy with food and clothes. That helped remind Asgore, and a small group went to buy cloth and bedding. By the end of the week they’d gone from forty to two hundred, and teams had explored the caverns, discovering that they widened out pretty quickly. It was, if nothing else, a beautiful prison. 

At the end of the week, the humans returned. Not just the original group, but hundreds, setting up camp at the base and coming up to stare at the monsters. Asgore tried to keep the others busy, working on opening up some of the tunnels, gathering the glowing crystals to create lamps and jewelry to keep the darkness at bay while exploring. 

But, even as busy as the others were, Asgore had to go out to face the humans. Toriel, Gaster, and a few various adults, a turtle, a rabbit, a mouse, amongst others, chose to accompany him. 

“You should wear Asgroc’s armor.” 

Asgore paused where he had been attempting to brush dirt off his pants, looking up. It was Toriel, holding the chest piece of his brother’s armor. 

“We didn’t recover it for me to wear,” he argued, staring at the piece in her paws. He could see a dent in it, and despite knowing better, his mind built up the image of his brother being struck down by that dent before he turned to dust. His mouth abruptly went dry. 

“It’ll be a sign of power. That you are the king,” she argued, setting the armor down to pull on his arm, forcing him to stand. When he started to argue, he got bopped on the nose. “They don’t know that you don’t want to be king, and as far as anyone’s concerned, you’re stepping into your role. No one has to know that you’re scared.” 

He didn’t answer for a minute, looking down and away. “I don’t know Tori. I don’t even know why you’re taking care of me.” It shouldn’t be him here. “We’re not even engaged anymore.” When she lifted the chestplate again, he helped steady pull it over his head, steadying it as she tightened the straps under his arms.

“We’re not? That’s news to me.” She disappeared for a moment, returning with more pieces. The turtle and Gaster were with her, carrying the last of it, and Gaster lingered as she continued working, playing with a folded piece of fabric in his hands.

“It was something our parents decided. I don’t think we have to uphold something they wished. There isn’t to be much fight for con – mmph!” Asgore was attempting to talk as she helped him fasten a bracer to his right arm. She had finished with one of the buckles when she pushed herself up on her toes and kissed him. His paws went up, unsure what exactly to do, until she pulled back, smiling at him gracefully.

“I believe it would be good if we chose to honor our parents’ wishes,” she said, finishing up with his arm and going down to help with his legs. Asgore was very, very suddenly aware of how close she was, how her paws felt against his thigh and how nice she smelled. Earthy. 

“I’ve…I’ve got the rest of it Lady Toriel. Thanks.” He pulled away abruptly, even making a slight shooing motion to try and hide his nerves. 

“Are you sure? There’s still quite a bit left – ”

“I’m sure. I’ve got it. Look, Gaster’s here too. We’ll be done in ten minutes.” Asgore actually backed away from Toriel, until she relented, handing Gaster the poleyn. Gaster set the fabric he held aside to attach it to his knee.

They were silent, Asgore silently fretting and Gaster presumably thinking about the stars or what he was doing. Asgore wasn’t sure and at the moment he really didn’t care. When he was dressed, Gaster had him kneel to drape the cloth over his shoulders. It was a cape, a deep purple cape that had just been made for him. Gaster took his paw, giving him a smile that he couldn’t return. They walked through the cave, towards the mouth, collecting others along the way. There were ten of them.

“Ah, so glad you could join us, our prince. It’s nearly time to begin, and you’ll be playing an important part of the ceremony.” Eight humans, seven of them holding colored stones. The eighth stepped forward, offering his hand to Asgore. And when the prince hesitated, he reached out, taking the massive paw instead.

“Asgore, what’s going on?” 

He didn’t turn around to look at the monsters. He wasn’t entirely certain what was happening, not until the human turned and put his hand on the nearest stone. The other humans mimicked the first, until there was a chain of hands on stones. “Seven human souls to seal your kind away forever, but we needed a catalyst. Your magic is enough.” 

“Prince Dreemurr, let go of his hand! What’s happening?”

The stones were glowing by the time Asgore jerked away, shocked. “What are you doing? You never said – ”

“You didn’t expect us to round up a mage that wasn’t already on your side did you? Even the humans that can use magic are a bunch of monster apologists. So we needed a catalyst. Thank you so much my prince.” The human gave a bow before backing away. Asgore stepped forward, to snatch a stone, to something, and he got a faceful of spear for his efforts. When he turned, he saw the monsters that had come with him were being pushed into the cave.

“Give us a reason prince. We’ll kill you now.” 

Asgore raised his paws, slowly moving away from the spears in his face. He was in the mouth of the cave, feeling something, a barrier, starting to form. He was in the cave when suddenly the light of the sun was blotted out by black and white.

“What is that? What’s going on?”

He reached out to touch the barrier, hissing as his fur started to burn. They were trapped. When he started to turn, he felt a fist against his jaw. He hit the barrier, making it reverberate and spark dangerously.

“What did you do?” Toriel stared at him, fuming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait and the below average pile of words. I was struggling a bit, then accidentally deleted the entire thing from my laptop.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the long, long, long wait. Various shit went down and I only just now felt the urge to continue this. My love of both Gaster and Asgore has yet to end, and I do enjoy this rather a lot. I'll try to get a few more chapters up this week as further apology. :)

Toriel’s wrath was impossible to run from, unless you were working. And Asgore relished the chance to escape and work. With the outside world cut off, that barrier of swirling black and white refusing even sunlight to come through, it was easier to form teams up and send them to explore the caves. The kingdom of monsters began anew, with camp slowly inching its way deeper, away from the old entrance, in search of the fabled city.

Everyday, Asgore would wake early, finding himself buried under children and smelling the fires and food that people had been cooking since he’d fallen asleep. The children would waken and run off, and he would avoid Toriel if she was around, not wishing to start a fight. Taking an axe and some supplies, he’d join those searching until his arms could barely lift the weight of the axe. Ten days of this, and his court soft pads were roughened and blistered over. It hurt to bend his knuckles.

On the eleventh day, he woke and found no children at his side, hearing them yelling to each other as they went to gather stones and the like, jobs that small paws and deft fingers could handle. Instead there were two figures, and it only took him a moment to realize who before he started away.

“Don’t you dare Asgore Dreemurr.” Toriel’s voice was low with the threat of violence. The glowing eyes next to her shifted up worriedly as she growled loud enough for even the deaf skeleton to feel. Asgore froze and lowered his head, defeated. 

“My lady,” he finally ventured, signing Gaster’s name clumsily. Oh, drat that skeleton and his deafness! His paws ached with even something so simple as signing ‘Gaster Wingdings’. “I apologize if I’ve caused you duress.”

“Duress? You? No.” The sarcasm was thick on the monster’s tongue, but he still dared not look up. “You’ve only run off with your tail between your legs, leaving Gaster and I to try and hold this kingdom of yours together. Oh, and then there’s the fact you apparently conspired with the humans to lock us away underground, away from the sky. Just how long have you been planning that one Dreemurr?”

“I—”

“Did you even think of what it’d do to the likes of Gaster? To be separated from their source of life?”

The look on Asgore’s face, startled and shocked as he looked up at Toriel and then at the little skeleton at her side, proved that he hadn’t. Toriel scoffed, until a familiar hand touched her arm, squeezing the fabric of her sleeve. She looked at Gaster and caught a slight shake of his skull before looking back at the prince, the king.

“I’m so sorry,” Asgore was saying, face stricken with regret, looking at Gaster mainly. His fur was matted and dirt smeared from working so hard, and he looked tired, worn, young. “It was this or we all died and I couldn’t, couldn’t condemn those we hadn’t yet saved to that, the children Tori – Gaster, I’m so sorry –” Toriel’s heat died just a little, and the resemblance grew between the two monsters. She bent her head, kissing the long snout of her betrothed, effectively shutting up the waterfall of words that’d been pouring from his mouth. 

“You’ve been neglecting your kingly duties by running to the caves,” Toriel said quietly, pressing her paw over his mouth when he started to argue. “Shh, just listen. This is not an insult, merely a reminder. You are the king, even if we have yet to crown you. There are petty fights, tensions are high. Those whose skills belonged on the surface have low spirits, and even the children are affected. You must bring hope to our subjects.” 

There was silence, broken only by the sounds of cooking and industry as people hurried back and forth. A babe was crying, only to quickly be silenced by some passing monster while their mothers were busy. Asgore looked out, past the apparent busyness, and he thought he saw. He looked down, accidentally meeting Gaster’s eyes. 

“Very well. I will hold court to listen to grievances.” It was what his father had always done. Listen to the people, then come to a decision. “My lady, would you be willing to collect the children and escort them to the rivers we’ve found. I think they would enjoy the flowers we’ve found there. Most unusual in my opinion, and it’ll give the parents a rest.”

Toriel nodded, giving a slight bow. “I will gather a few adults to help me gather food and distract them. They’re quite a rambunctious lot.” When she left, he turned to Gaster.

“My old friend, I’m sorry. I never realized the grief you’d feel being parted from the stars.” He held a paw out to the skeleton, watching Gaster look down and cautiously place his hand on top. It was trembling slightly before curling into the massive paw. Asgore pulled him into his chest, squeezing him tightly. It was hard to believe how slight the skeleton was, but even with being a skeleton, he felt more fragile than before. Was it from being underground, away from the stars?

When Gaster finally pulled free, he looked to Asgore again, eyes glowing brightly in the dim light. Asgore forced a faint smile. “Listen, Gaster, we will have a new purpose for you and those like you. A way to help all of monsterkind grow as a people, to give us hope.” What it was, he didn’t yet know, but Gaster was more than just an interpreter of the stars. Gaster nodded and started to sign, but a shout distracted the king.

“We’ve found it! We’ve found the city!” 

Asgore grabbed Gaster’s hands, inclining his head jerkily towards the voice to let him know he wasn’t being an ass for no reason. Gaster turned, squinting, and pulled away, his robes flowing behind him. Asgore stood, following quickly on his friend’s heels.

“What was that? You’ve found what?” They were far from the first to gather around the monster, who looked excited and proud. They rubbed at their scales where blood was pooling from some scrape and puffed out their chest.

“The old city! It’s in ruins almost, but it’s big and comfortable enough for us all to move in and make right again! It’s past the waterfall and cold area down a teeny tunnel! Prince Dreemurr, your Majesty.” And the scaly creature fell silent, eyes wide as saucers as Asgore walked through the throng to the monster’s side. He rested a paw on their shoulder, giving them a soft smile.

“Good job in finding the city. Will you show me where you saw it?”

“O-of course sire! You might have to duck to preserve your horns though!”

The scaled creature, a newty monster by the name of Geisz, led a party made up of the prince, Gaster, Toriel, and a few other monsters that had found themselves displaced by being forced underground – other star watchers and sun lovers mainly. The others stayed behind, cooking a feast for the discovery and to prepare for the move. 

The walk was tight in some places, with Asgore ducking and walking sideways at points. Even Toriel struggled a time or two, and Gaster had to incline his skull to preserve it from the sharp rocks. But eventually they made it, marveling in a hollow space, a cylinder going up and up and up until it broke into black. The sky? Was it night?

“It was a volcano at some point,” one of the monsters said, kicking at the dirt. “See this rock? It’s the same sort you’d find after lava runs and cools.”

“Good for farming,” another monster piped up, only to be shushed. The party looked up, surprised to hear what sounded like a howl.

“It’s the wind,” Geisz said softly. “I think I saw the sun earlier, but I can’t be sure.” 

Toriel and Asgore exchanged looks. The sun! So close and yet so far away. If it was true, could they climb out this cone and go up? Rather than discuss in front of impressionable monsters, Asgore urged them on to the city, which was only a short ways away now. It was a high cavern that the old people had made home, and the buildings were all there, solid, tall, with only a few cracks and weak edges belying their age. Geisz stopped at the edge of the cavern, eyes wide.

“Here it is,” they said softly, and watched as the prince walked past them, towards what looked like a tree with red leaves scattered about it. It was long dead, it appeared.

“This,” he said slowly, staring at the old tree and the buildings, slowly turning to face the group that had followed them. “This is Home. And this is where I, Prince Dreemurr, will become King of the Monsters.” He swallowed. “I will give our people the hope they need to remember that one day, we’ll go back to the surface and return to our place. No longer under or beside humans, but above them!”

The small group let out a cheer, small and thin in the cavernous space. Asgore felt his stomach flip flop unpleasantly in his stomach, but he repressed the feeling, giving a faint smile. When he looked to Gaster and Toriel, he found the lady looking away, talking with Geisz, but Gaster was looking at him. When their eyes met, Gaster gave a short nod, and Asgore gave a thin smile.

This had to be the right thing to do.


End file.
